Now this short parable, in between sort of where we were this morning, because he gave the parable and then the explanation on either side of this, of the good seed song, but this parable draws our minds and our hearts to think on some beautiful truths concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and how he was despised of men, he was overlooked, he was dismissed, He was not impressive to men, though he be God himself in human flesh. The kingdom of heaven, that's what all these parables regard, the kingdom of heaven. And again, it concerns seed and the sowing of seed and the growth of that and a tree growing and providing shelter, providing a home. for the vulnerable. And it's such a beautiful picture. Our Lord himself was the least among the seeds as far as this world was concerned, and still is.

Everybody is talking about somebody named Jesus, but not often with much regard or certainly love. But even when they are, they're not talking about our Lord. They're not talking about our Savior. They're not talking about the king of glory, the sovereign savior of sinners. They're talking about somebody else. The king of the kingdom himself is considered the least. That word in our text applies to our savior, the least.

Isaiah said he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root Out of a dry ground he hath no form nor comeliness and when we shall see him. There's no beauty That we should desire him You look at a mustard seed, and it doesn't appear possible that anything will ever come of it That it could ever be anything worth noticing I And if you could have seen the baby in the manger, would you have seen God's Son? Only by faith in Him, only by revelation from God would you do. That's the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. Simeon in Luke chapter 2 was able to look at the Lord Jesus Christ as a baby. And God had revealed to him that he wouldn't die until he had seen God's salvation.

And that's a very, very important way that the Lord's referred to there. Simeon said, Lord, now let us thy servant depart in peace. In other words, he spoke of his death. I'm ready to die now because you said I wouldn't die. But now I've seen your salvation. We always say that salvation is a person because it's the truth. He saw God's salvation in a little baby in his mother's arms. And it was by faith, it's by the Lord's revelation. He was looking for him too, wasn't he? That's when you'll see him too, it's when you're looking for him. The Lord will cause you to seek and then promise you that if you seek, you'll find.

But he looked at that tiny insignificant seed and saw a great tree of life, the home and harbor, safe refuge of sinners in this world. In his branches, birds from all over the world have come and lodged and found hope and peace and rest, refuge, and home.

And not everybody can see what Simeon saw. His eyes saw God's salvation, but what do our eyes see? What do the eyes of this world see? The Lord said to his disciples, blessed are your eyes, for they see. If you had seen, for example, a man who had been brutally beaten and scourged and pummeled and broken and forced to carry a cross up a hill and beheld him there as they raised his broken body. And he hung there gory and in shame, in disgrace, in ignominy, Would you have seen God? Would you have seen the King of Glory there? Seems to me that most didn't.

Those who mocked and railed on Him, you don't mock and rail on your God. You do the God that you don't know, but your God. That's how you find out who somebody's God is. You see what they spend their time doing and what they Value where your treasure is that's where your heart is If he was their God they wouldn't have mocked and railed on him But then there was a thief there that day who saw him for who he is Well the eye of faith, but you see the analogy here a mustard seed nothing Nothing to look at nothing to glory in, nothing to admire, no beauty that we should desire him, no value.

And yet, well, so many were mocking and saw nothing but a pathetic failure, just as they do now. It's exactly the same now. If you speak to people of the Lord Jesus Christ and tell them who He is from the scriptures, there's nothing but disdain, and He's dismissed out of hand. There's no beauty about the true Son of God that sinners should desire Him. But when the Lord reveals Himself to a sinner, what do we say?

Beautiful Beautiful for situation and beautiful. He's beautiful. He's glorious we see in him all the beauty that there is in the universe and That thief saw a king. He saw the king the king And said Lord remember me when thou comest into that kingdom when he's preached today everybody of any Status in this world avoids his ministry like the plague. I Nobody that wants to be recognized and admired by men will own him. But what do we see? The only savior of sinners, the only hope? If we do, it's only by his grace through faith.

When everybody calls us antinomians or cult, we're often called a cult, you know, because we believe something that nobody else believes, you know, it's just a few. So we're a cult and all that, and everybody says that's not fair when you tell them God chooses and not you. It's okay for everything to be up to you, but it's not okay for everything to be up to God.

That ought to raise a red flag, you reckon? But it doesn't. Everybody's scandalized Absolutely scandalous to say that God doesn't love everybody Absolutely people that haven't even thought of God For six months in any form or fashion, and then it was probably some song that blasphemed him We'll go get up in arms if you say God doesn't love everybody You say Christ did not die in order to save every sinner that ever lived. Scandal. Absolute scandal. So here's what's important. What think ye of Christ? Who do you say that he is?

Our Lord deliberately He deliberately, you think about the text I'm gonna be talking about here and think about how this was set up and how that the Lord arranged this. The Lord Jesus deliberately revealed the effects of his grace, the difference between a sinner without his grace and a sinner with his grace. When he asked the disciples that day, whom do men say that I am? He deliberately set this up.

And you think about the outcome of this, what this taught. Who do men say that I am? Well, some say you're John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets. There was all kinds of theories and just like always, you know, and still. But then he turned to them and said, who do you say that I am?

Do you see the mustard seed? as something insignificant, something that you would just brush off your shoulder? Or do you see the kingdom of God? Who do you say that I am? Do you see the least or do you see the greatest? Those two words are in our text, the least among the seeds, but the greatest of the herbs, that's our savior himself. And he deliberately made a division, didn't he? He deliberately made a distinction.

Who do men say that I am? All kinds of nonsense. But who do you say that I am? We believe that thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. And the Lord Jesus said, Simon, blessed are you. Because flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you. You didn't figure it out. You weren't taught it by another. man at least that wouldn't have done it except that my father revealed it to you from heaven grace the difference that grace make the least of the greatest which is it the son of god or just some reincarnated man His preachers also are nobodies from nowhere, and he's deliberately set it up that way. His people were described as foolish, weak, base, the things that are not, the off-scouring of the earth.

When you look at this church, do you see the kingdom of God? Most wouldn't. Most wouldn't. He chose fishermen, a tax collector, The lettered religious scholars look down on them, but Christ said, whoever believes what you say, I'll save them. The scripture says the world is not worthy of his people.

In little towns all over this country and even around the world, there are little places where God shines his light in the gospel of Christ. And it seems to be the least. But these are where God's saving His people, the greatest purpose of God in the salvation of His elect is accomplished by these small, tiny, insignificant means, despised means, the foolishness of preaching, the world says. But God saves sinners like that.

Zechariah 4.8, listen, Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands also shall finish it, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven, They are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is building His temple in this world right now. And we do tend to despise the day of small things. There may be nothing but days of small things. This church is small in comparison. This church is insignificant to this world. God's work here, His ministry here, it means nothing to hardly anybody. And yet, God's building His temple, His living temple.

1 Peter 2, 4, To whom coming, the Lord Jesus, were still coming to him as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also, or like him as living stones, disallowed, overlooked, despised even when they know enough about you. But you're built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. The greatest of purpose, the greatest of God's glory, but the least in the eyes of men.

You also, he said, he shows how that it is with us as it is with our Lord in this. Acts 28, I've written down Acts 28, 17 through 24. Let's turn over there. Acts 28. 28, 17. And it came to pass that after three days, Paul called the chief of the Jews together. And when they were come together, He said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar, not that I had ought to accuse my nation of, For this cause, therefore, have I called for you to see you and to speak with you, because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. And they said unto him, We neither receive letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm of thee, but we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest. For as concerning this sect, we know that every word is spoken against. Everywhere. The gospel of, oh, they just believe what will be, will be. You know, it's a cult. They think they're the chosen few and everybody else is going to hell. You know, just maligned, despised, spoken against by everybody.

And when they had appointed him a day, verse 23, there came many to him into his lodging, to whom he expounded and testified. What's our text about? The kingdom of God. the kingdom of God, spoken against by everybody. But this is the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus. Everywhere you find what they said, it's the name of a person. He went into their synagogues as his custom was, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered in here he persuaded them concerning jesus both out of the law of moses and out of the prophets for morning until evening and some believed the things which were spoken and some believed not that's the kingdom of god spoken against by everybody that is anybody And yet what does it consist of?

Jesus, the Son of God, the One around whom this entire universe revolves. Everything was made by Him and for Him. All things are to Him and through Him. He sitteth upon the circle of the earth and all the inhabitants there over as grasshoppers, and yet still he's spoken against, he's despised and rejected. It's exactly the same today. Everybody that's aware of this ministry, and I don't mean just here, but everywhere the Gospels preach, it's spoken against.

But God's building and establishing his kingdom, his temple, his living temple, That should be an encouragement to us. Because we see, you know, like Isaiah, who hath believed, I report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? And after speaking of the arm of the Lord, his next word was he. He, the power of the Lord.

God is assembling a multitude which cannot by man be numbered. Here's a few of them right here. Here's a little mustard seed. But a multitude which cannot be numbered. And he's doing it in little places like this all around the country and some places around the world that we don't ever even think about. And it's like a tree grows unnoticed by the human eye. Unless you're watching that tree all the time, you'll never see it grow. Oh, but it is, it is.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the least in this world even now, but one day he'll be highly exalted and given a name which is what? Those words we've been talking about all night, those two words in our text, least and greatest. Christ is both. Christ is both. He's the least to this world, and we are too. We're connected with him in that. But the greatest, God has a world because he has his sheep. He exalts us to his very throne, to the right hand of his throne.

One day he's the least even now, but one day every name His name shall be above every name. He'll be highly exalted and in his name every knee shall bow every one of them Every knee that was ever formed will bow At the name of Jesus and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father what a an overwhelming ascension from the despised and rejected to the Lord that everybody is calling out his name and praising him and honoring him as Lord. And even those who know him not that aren't praising him, they're acknowledging that he's the Lord. He's the Lord. A tiny seed planted in this world a tiny seed, the seed of God, not man. In the parable where we saw the good seed, those seed were the children of the kingdom. He's pictured as a seed and so are we, in his parables.

How do we grow? When we grow, it's really Him growing. Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When we're growing, it's just simply us living what we say, he must increase and I must decrease. And think about this, does Christ mean more to you than he did in years past? If you know him at all, then I guarantee you he means more to you now than he did when you first knew him. Because everything that's living grows. We may not have a perception of it. We can't sit there and say, well, I just grew a little in grace. That's not how seeds grow. That's not how plants grow. But everything that's alive grows.

Let me quote the whole verse, 2 Peter 3.18, but grow in grace.

Intertwined in that integral to that is this and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to know him is to know grace To know him is to understand grace You may say I'm a grace person. I believe in free grace. I believe in sovereign grace grace grace grace But knowing and understanding and laying hold of the grace of God is to know Christ and and to know Him better and better and better is to grow in His grace, to know Him, the person, not a doctrine, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All of our doctrine, and we value doctrine, we believe doctrine, we're affirmed in our doctrine, we don't want to argue about the doctrine, but our doctrine's a person. It's just a description of Him and what He did. That's what our doctrine is. Doctrine just means teaching.

And what is it that you know that's not Christ, that's worth knowing? How does a mustard seed become a great tree? Growth. Growth. And when a believer grows, he doesn't become greater in his own eyes, Christ becomes greater in his eyes. To grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ is not to become greater yourself, it's for you to decrease while he increases, and as that happens, and to the extent that that happens, there's growth in grace. Remember how Paul grew? He grew from not worthy to be called an apostle. Well, that's pretty, you know, that's not a great recommendation. He should have never been one of the apostles, not worthy of it. But he grew to less than the least of all the saints.

Wait, that's even worse! That's growth. That's growth in Christ, that's you decreasing. And he grew yet from there to the chief of sinners, the worst wretch that ever crawled on this earth. That's growth in grace, it's growth in faith. Lord, increase our faith. It's a growth in knowledge.

Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, learn of me. After Paul had known him for years, his cry yet was that I may know him. Take my yoke upon you and find rest unto your souls. Paul said, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.

For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. One final thought from our text in Matthew 13.

This kingdom that our Lord describes in this way, which is the increase of our Lord in our hearts, in this world of his people, as we hear his gospel, this kingdom is home to the little birds. The little birds that don't have another place to land and find refuge. The word lodge there You know, trees land in trees, birds land in trees, and then they go and land in another tree. But there's one tree that they go back to. The word lodge here means to fix one's abode. When a little bird flies into the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ, he don't ever go anywhere else after that. Christ does many things to many people, but to his people, he's home. a place of refuge, safety, comfort, peace, and joy. Amen.